OnceConvinced wrote:Word_Swordsman wrote:
Using the Bible as a source not needing defense here (which it doesn't need anywhere), the Bible is self-declarative concerning inspiration from God to men to write His words in Job 32:8 "But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." and in 2 Tim. 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
OnceConvinced wrote:The thing is the Holy Spirit is not able to bring unity amongst Christians. We have numerous Christians who come through here believing they have true understanding of scripture, but yet they all believe different things. Where's the unity? If the Holy Spirit really did show Christians understanding there would be no arguments amongst them. But there is. None of them can agree! So how can any Christian be taken seriously when they claim the bible says a certain thing, when other Christians claim it says something different?
God was revealed sometimes with thunderings and earthquakes, but also by a small still voice as in 1 Kings 19:12 "And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."
Many thinking themselves to hear God listen for the roarings, failing to detect the Holy Spirit. It isn't a failure of the Spirit, but of dull hearts of men. There is great unity in the Church over most of the major doctrines, but God is also allowing men thinking themselves Christians to go their own ways contrary to His word. You focus on the failures, while I focus on the Word. Any judgment of what is believed should properly be compared to that word. I find a lot of variance between atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in general, all having nothing in common with Bible knowledge.
What I say is subject to analysis of the word of God. I am not commanded to align myself with what men have to say, but what God said. Another troublesome thing you are encountering is many members of any sect feel compelled to cite sect doctrines in spite of what the Bible says. Ministers on their payrolls are trapped into parroting what their peers say. So it is many are forced to accept abominable acts like ordaining homosexuals in an effort to get along with the world {kosmos).
OnceConvinced wrote:Can you see that nobody is going to take anyone seriously who claims they have holy-spirit lead understanding? Why should you for instance be taken any more seriously than other Christians here who claim to have Holy Spirit understanding?
That is expected, experienced by Jesus in the midst of a large number of Jewish priests, Pharisees, scribes, and others of national authority. He stood alone exposing their false doctrines in Matthew 3:7 "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"
Matthew 12:34 "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."
Here's a big one full of name-calling by jesus, who exemplifies God's perspective of love for enemies.
Matthew 23:13-39 "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. [14] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. [15] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. [16] Woe unto you,
ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! [17]
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? [18] And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. [19] Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? [20] Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. [21] And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. [22] And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. [23] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. [24] Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. [25] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. [26]
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. [27] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye are like unto whited sepulchres (painted/decorated tomb stones), which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. [28] Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. [29] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, [30] And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. [31] Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. [32] Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. [33]
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
[34] Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: [35] That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. [36] Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation (they did happen as prophesied, AD 70). [37] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
I just love Jesus' honesty and courage. He was loving them. You won't understand God's love until in Christ. I follow Jesus in His word and deeds, increasingly every year of my life. He is my role model. The Holy Spirit is my guide.
I must not be taken seriously if sound to oppose the word of God as recorded in the Bible. None of you have succeeded in proving me to be wrong concerning the Bible. Your only possession is finding me opposing your lame opinions with no basis other than faulty reasonings.
